Pain is temporary, quitting is forever!

Libraries and Learning Innovation were offered the opportunity to send some staff to Bavaria as a thank you for their involvement in this year's Festival of Partnerships for Students. Lucky enough to be one of the chosen few drawn out of the hat I found myself Nordic walking, skiing and climbing down a gorge during the three day trip as part of a diverse group, made up of students and staff from across the university. We listened to inspiring talks from Dee Caffari who sailed solo around the world in both directions and Dave Bunting who led the British team up Mount Everest via the West Ridge.

The instructors were brilliant. They taught us the skills needed to participate in the challenges so we felt safe and comfortable. I also loved listening to the fascinating facts about the local countryside. It was an amazing experience. We had beautiful weather, spectacular scenery, comfortable accommodation and scrumptious Bavarian cakes. At times challenging, it was really enjoyable and I even made some new friends. I have returned feeling enthused and rejuvenated with just a few sore blisters on my feet. The motto of the weekend for me had to be: "pain is temporary, quitting is forever!"

Winners in Bavaria

Last week saw a group of 19 students and staff, winners in the Leeds Metropolitan University Festival of Partnerships for Students, arrive at the Carnegie Alpenrose for a week of fun and personal development in the mountains. When they received the news that they were to fly out to Bavaria for a week of snow and sunshine, few of them really knew what to expect.

Many groups arrive here questioning themselves deeply, will I be fit enough; is it going to be scary; am I capable? Well, so far...everyone who has visited us on a teambuilding or leadership programme has accomplished the challenges on offer; some against all expectations of themselves. Our trainers are some of the most highly qualified and experienced outdoor specialists and safety remains their main focus; fun a close second! This is nicely expressed below by one of the students in the group.

From all your Gorge group, we wish we were in the Gorge every day. Not once did we feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Thank you for making our first day at the Alpenrose so great. Becki Griffiths

Although this programme was not essentially about learning new skills or teambuilding (these students came from many different faculties across the University) it was still designed to be a very powerful experience, benefitting the individual both personally and professionally.

Reasonably new to the industry myself, I have been blown away by the effects of outdoor activities on individuals. The achievements in getting yourself and your team mates down through the “Gorge experience” or of learning a new skill such as Nordic skiing are a huge boost to self confidence and self belief which in turn can boost creativity, problem solving and develop talent and potential. You are also bonding with people who are sharing the same experiences as you and in doing so you are learning to place trust and have confidence in others as well as yourself.

Experiencing something outside of your normal routine can also have huge psychological benefits and give you that nudge you need to realise dreams and aspirations that you thought were beyond your boundaries. Please see our “Be your Best“ web page for more benefits of outdoor activities.

“Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow.”> Ronald E Osborn

This group arrived in the main as individuals but left as a group of friends who had shared some great experiences. There was a lot of laughter as well as a few tears of anticipation but I think the testimonials they left us sum up the end product......

“Had a brilliant time and would like to thank all the staff involved. I feel I have achieved something I would not have done otherwise, thanks" Karen Smith

“Thanks to everyone involved in making the last few days so amazing. I’ve never been on a trip like this but I definitely will be doing something like this again....” Chris Jones

“The time spent with My Peak Potential has been both exciting and exhilarating. The activities are so rewarding and the team leaders are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Thank you 4 the opportunity” Sam Dixon

Leadership and Karaoke on the high seas

We currently have Dee Caffari, World class record breaking solo yachtswoman, staying with us at the Carnegie Alpenrose. After very recently returning from her third around the world challenge where she was taking part in the Vendee Globe race, she is enjoying a well deserved break as well as easing herself back into some land-based exercise.


At sea Dee was very much confined to the boundaries of her 60ft yacht. Although controlling a boat of this class is extremely strenuous work, it is mainly her arms that bore the brunt of this work. Dee describes her physical appearance on return to land as similar to that of the well loved seadog Popeye! However there was no spinach in sight, just days and days of freeze dried rations! My Peak Potential’s John Doyle has been taking her on early morning runs to get those land legs back up to full speed whilst Herbie, our chef, has been making sure she gets her greens! With a combination of gentle runs in the foothills, Nordic skiing, Ski-touring and snow-showing each day Dee will soon be back up to peak fitness and the next challenge in front of her, the Around Britain and Ireland Record. Is there no stopping this woman?




Dee’s stay with us has also coincided with a group of students who are with us as part of a prize they received from their student festival. On the first evening of their stay they listened to our very own Dave Bunting present his Everest West Ridge expedition story and on evening two Dee kindly offered an impromptu account of her own experiences of her record-breaking world challenges.



Having heard Dave’s inspirational story a few times now, I was really looking forward to finding out all about another inspiring adventure. With questions reeling around my head of how you cope with the loneliness, what happens if your injure yourself and the nearest person to you is actually on the international space station above you (This is true of one point on the route, and just happened to coincide with Dee’s birthday this year!), I made myself comfy in the lecture room.
The statistics are pretty impressive and I think Dee herself is just coming to terms with them. Apparently only four people have ever circumnavigated the world in both directions, and only one of these four is a woman. That woman is Dee! She seemingly surprises herself with this statistic and follows it up with a congratulatory....”Get in!”

Dee is an extremely personable woman and so it is even more fascinating that she has chosen to sail around the world twice, solo. I have always imagined it to be the theatre of slightly introverted and steely characters; this is the antithesis of Dee’s nature. Dee’s sunny personality captivates her audience. She describes the horror of hearing the fate of other sailors in the fleet. How news of dismastings and capsizes unnerve her in the southern oceans. How the lack of sleep, the waves as high as a three storey house and the drifting Icebergs (a very real threat to a boat made from Carbon fibre) are all elements of the journey she battles with alone each day.

Dee’s 60 ft yacht Aviva, became her ally and confidant on her 3 month journey.
With the nearest person hundreds of miles away, you need some company. They were in this race together so many conversations would be had between the two of them, well...in one direction, but none the less; Aviva was always consulted on the next move!

Music appeared to be another savoir from the loneliness of this solo race. With nothing but the sound of three storey waves crashing into your hull, it provided a great distraction for the mind. Dee states that her Karaoke skills were much improved on her return!



The most interesting part of this story to us as a leadership training facility is the way Dee coped with leading herself and her 60ft Yacht across hundreds of thousands of kilometres of forbidding seas. She had an amazing team supporting her from dry land, but if something breaks or goes wrong, the decision making is ultimately up to her. How to manage herself, her time, her eating, her sleeping is all down to Dee. She is her own mechanic, own chef, own doctor, own manager, own counsellor and own companion.

As an ex student of Leeds Metropolitan University she worked closely with them on the physiological and psychological aspects of her trip. By analysing diaries she kept on her last trip against the prevailing winds, she was able to recognise patterns of behaviour fairly quickly and react accordingly. She uses one example, which although a seemingly obvious reaction in children, we rarely recognise in ourselves as adults. She noted that when her emotions and stress were running high and her ability to cope with them was low, it was because she either needed a sleep or something to eat. Things are always so much easier with a little shut eye and a full tummy. Try it next time!

Thank you very much Dee for your presentation and a very big congratulations on your record –breaking double and your 6th place in the Vendee!
Dee is available for motivational and after dinner speaking. Please contact us to find out more.

My Peak Potential are going live

We have launched our brand new website http://www.my-peakpotential.com/. Same address; totally new informative, innovative and exciting content!

My Peak Potential specialise in Bespoke Leadership and Management Development. We are a team of ex-British Armed Forces experts in leadership and adventurous training, with our own alpine lodge accommodation in the Bavarian Alps. From here we are able to offer exclusive residential development programme’s as well as fantastic adventure holidays. Please see our new “Be your Best” page to find out more about the powerful, professional and personal benefits of outdoor adventure activities.
There are many new exciting features to the website, including video footage, blogs, competitions and plenty of stunning imagery of the lodge, mountains and various expeditions we have led and taken part in. We have also added an innovative new “Be Inspired” button; simply click on the button, fill in the quick and easy form and submit! One of our experts will then get in touch with suggestions for development programmes, academic courses, holidays and motivational presentations.
To celebrate the launch of our new website we are running a competition to find the team most worthy of a free three day training package for 6 people with us in the Bavarian Alps. This prize is worth £4,500. Simply go to competition box on the homepage and let us know in 100 words why your team would benefit from a development programme with My Peak Potential. Competition closes on the 30th May 2009
We hope you like the new look and enjoy spending time on our fabulous new website.
Please let us know how you find it by contacting us via the website.
Best wishes
Jo

Be Inspired, be your best!

Weather the economic storm with effective and transferable leadership training.
Bespoke outdoor leadership and management development programmes are a powerful and effective way to develop teams and managers, providing them with the necessary skills to cope with difficult times.


With the toughest recession for a generation upon us and more and more pressure being put on managers to run their teams more efficiently and effectively; strong leadership and solid teamwork are essential to a company’s survival.














Providing leadership and management training will enable your managers to respond to and withstand the changeable and competitive climate they are working in. The right development programme will make them more effective, help them deal with stress and enable them to increase productivity, allowing the company to reap the benefits in both the short and long term.
One of the most effective methods for ensuring that skills learnt on Management Development courses are transferable back into the workplace is to allow people to practise these skills first hand. The results are more powerful, longer lasting and deeper rooted than those learnt in a classroom. The Outdoors is a unique leaning environment providing more impact and credibility than the classroom with participants experiencing and reacting to the real thing.

Dave Bunting from My Peak Potential, formerly an adventurous training specialist with the British Army says “Adventurous training has long been used in the Military to develop leadership and enhance the performance of soldiers. Activities involving controlled exposure to risk are used to develop leadership & teamwork, build self confidence and enhance decision making; skills vital to operational performance."














My Peak Potential who specialise in outdoor leadership and management training recognise the need for value for money and so provide bespoke programmes that get straight to the heart of the problem, offering real solutions that produce powerful results.
The innovative and unique “Be Inspired” button on their new website can quickly and easily provide you with effective ideas for tailor-made training programmes. You just fill in the simple form with all the information necessary and one of their specialists will get in touch with you to offer suggestions and ideas about building a unique and powerful development programme for your company.

Businesses need strong leaders to inspire productive performance and communicate effectively - taking you through these uncertain times.

Effective management training in this climate is not a luxury, it is a necessity.

The Everest West Ridge Presentation

It is that time of the year when assignments and exams are taking place, and we are submerging ourselves in the mayhem of submitting coursework and meeting deadlines.

Last week I attended the Dave Bunting Presentation. I regularly check the “campus announcements”, and this really caught my eye as the presentation was billed as high impact and visual.

I remember following on Sky News the attempt to reach the Everest summit via the almost inaccessible and rarely climbed West Ridge in 2006.

The presentation followed the expedition from conception to completion and the many emotional ups and down experienced by the members of the expedition party; the preparation period was three years!

The talk was awe inspiring, at times humbling. There were many themes I could relate to in my everyday life; emphasising the importance of team work, physical endurance, stamina and striving for a common goal. It was about leadership and making hugely difficult decisions.

It was about the process, rather than the end point, as the team never actually managed to complete the expedition and reach the summit.

It reminded me how fine the line is between success and failure.

It reminded me how big the world is!

Andrew Jennings

Dave Bunting is available for motivational presentations through www.speakersfromtheedge.com
and www.speakersacademy.nl

Please click on the names to go directly to their websites.

From Challenge to Winners

Richard Holt - A winners account of his journey to the Carnegie Alpenrose

I first came across My Peak Potential at the Marketing staff away day. We were shown the trials and tribulations of the Everest West Ridge team and undertook a range of team building exercises. I found their approach enjoyable and informative, ending the day feeling positive and empowered. This 24 hour challenge seems very involved and also quite intriguing; it seems I will be embracing my cognitive, physical and emotional dimensions!! I am looking to approach the day with an open mind and see where it takes me. Alongside my Faculty of Business & Law and Support Staff day these two physical days will give me something to look forward to as a way of exercising both my body and my brain.

As I arrived at Malham Tarn in the Yorkshire Dales for ‘My Peak Potential’ 24 hour ‘Carnegie Great Outdoor Challenge’, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had visions of sleeping rough, skinning rabbits and being tracked by packs of hunting dogs. Being greeted by friendly staff, a choice of sandwich fillings and a comfy bed come as a pleasant surprise. That is not to say we weren’t still challenged, almost immediately we were split into groups and sent out to begin a range of different challenges, as diverse as they were fun.

What was described as examining our cognitive, physical and emotional dimensions, translated into tasks that at times included logical thinking and problem solving, physical strength and a high dose of trust. These elements came together to create a strong altruistic group in record time. Whilst there was a competitive edge to the day, it felt more important to get the most out of yourself and the group, whilst smiling our way through the day. I had a fantastic experience, and will be recommending these challenges to everyone as a great way to develop your team’s spirit and productivity or as a way of making new friends from around the University.

The Carnegie Alpenrose:

Returning from four amazing days at the Carnegie Alpenrose, I have evaluated my experience to see why it was so fulfilling. Two models attributed to Karl Ronke, introduced me to a tool for creating the right balance of challenges to optimise our learning experience. Whilst new to me, the concepts are very straight forward. The first is ‘Challenge by Choice’, where we choose how hard to push ourselves and understand we need to be stretched to maximise our development. The second is ‘Comfort, Stretch, Panic’, best pictured as three concentric circles. In the centre is our Comfort Zone, next comes the Stretch Zone and the outside ring is the Panic Zone.

The Comfort Zone is what we are used to and enjoy doing. I spent a lot of the weekend here, aided by the beautiful surroundings, excellent staff and the safe environment they created. The Stretch Zone is where the learning happens. Abseiling blindfolded while the whole group is mute, stretched me to evaluate my every movement and remember everything I had been taught. The Panic Zone is to be avoided, you are not focused or learning. Luckily, my only foray into Panic was when it was time to go!